Simon Winchester talks about the enormous volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883. The tidal waves killed almost forty thousand people, and the resulting social chaos gave rise to the first incidents of Muslim clerics fomenting violent uprisings against Westerners.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Writer Richard Rodriguez views his so-called brown identity as a racial mixture, dating back to the colonization of the Americas. He tells us why he celebrates being brown, and embraces the term "Hispanic."
Stephen Prothero tells Steve Paulson about the first American cremation, which didn’t really go very well, and the current craze for going out in a blaze of glory.
Toni Morrison may be a Nobel Laureate, but she still gets labeled a “Black woman writer.” She talks about her childhood and how the Civil Rights Movement magnified class differences.
Tariq Ramadan tells Steve Paulson that Islam should be viewed as a religion in its own right and not compared to the history of Christianity.
Two experts talk about Vastu, a Hindu philosophy for designing buildings in harmony with the universe.
Walter Hamady is the proprietor of the Perishable Press Limited, and among the most celebrated American printers of fine, limited edition books.
William La Fleur is the author of “Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan.” He tells Anne Strainchamps about the Japanese mizuko rituals which are a form of public apology addressed to aborted fetuses.
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